Tel Aviv (Palestine Foundation Information Center), The Israeli Knesset has approved its dissolution on Friday morning, paving the way for early parliamentary elections scheduled for October 27, 2026.
The decision came after the Knesset passed a draft law on financial support for political parties in its second and third readings, which included a clause calling for early elections.
A total of 62 Knesset members voted in favor of the bill, under which the next Knesset elections will be held on October 27, 2026.
Before the vote, uncertainty surrounded the dissolution process for several hours due to disagreements between the opposition and Aryeh Deri, leader of the Shas party, over a proposed increase in political party funding and their budgets.
Deri had conditioned his support for the bill on receiving backing from the opposition. He argued that increasing political party funding would benefit opposition parties more than his own party and said he wanted to avoid facing public criticism alone over the decision.
Had the bill not been approved, the Knesset dissolution could have been delayed until the following week, allowing the government more time to pass additional legislation. However, political parties would have lost tens of millions of shekels allocated for their election campaigns.
The Knesset also approved a bill postponing for five years a reduction in the mandatory service period in the Israeli military.
In addition, lawmakers approved the controversial “Communications Law” by a vote of 53 to 48. The legislation establishes a new regulatory body for television and radio media, replacing the existing Second Authority and the Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Council.
The new body will have an annual budget of 25 million shekels, while the Director General of the Communications Ministry will appoint its members, who will be responsible for setting the institution’s policies.
